Life Story
William Marrion Branham


Dedicated to all those who are seeking for truth and a sign of confirmation.


Table of contents:

Chapter 1. The Truth


Chapter 2. The Birth


Chapter 3. The Visions


Chapter 4. The Church


Chapter 5. The Angel


Chapter 6. The Sign


Chapter 7. The Light


Chapter 8. The Confirmation





This ebook is the Life Story of Reverend William Marrion Branham as preached in his own words on the 14th of March 1954 (54-0314) at Columbus Ohio USA from his sermon entitled 'Why I'm Praying for the Sick'


Writen and edited by

Iswarlall Balooram




Chapter 1 The Truth

That’s right. It’s the truth. It’s the Angel of the Lord that appeared to me has sent me to you. And that’s exactly the truth.

Now, I don’t come as fanatic. I do not believe in fanaticism. I wouldn’t stand for it. And I know you don’t believe in fanaticism. You believe in the truth, and truth will always speak for itself. That’s right. You never have to strain truth. Truth will always be truth. And so, I–I trust that God will bless us now.

And now, religious background, I had none. My people before me were Catholic. I… My father and mother both are Irish. Anybody can be forgiven for that; there’s a chance for all of us, isn’t there, for being Irish. Mother and dad both were Irish. My mother is a Harvey, my father a Branham. So I was born in a little cabin up here in the mountains. We’ll have the books, but not to sell on Sunday, on some other day in the week. And they’re… The different literature and stuff will be… after a bit.

Now friends, I can only testify to what’s truth. It may seem a little strange to some of you. But if I tell the truth, God will testify that it is the truth. And if He doesn’t, then I haven’t told the truth. Lets God do the judging



Chapter 2 The Birth

And I’m told that when I was born, in a little mountain cabin up in Kentucky, we didn’t have windows like you have here in your homes here; it was just a door you push out, and a little door for a window, no rug on the floor, not even a floor, just the dirt. And we had a stump, cut off, pegs in it, for our–our table, and a bench we set on to eat there at the table, they said. My father and mother were very poor.

I was born on a little straw tick with a shuck pillow. I guess none of you in here ever slept on a straw tick. Oh, is there? Is somebody…? Why, I’ll just take off my coat and feel at home now. If you know what a straw… How many ever drank from a gourd? Let’s see what…? Say, the–the country’s moved right into the city, hasn’t it? That’s all. Yes, sir. Well, that’s… You won’t pay any attention to my “hit,” and “hain’t,” and “fetch,” and “carry,” and “tote,” and all those grammatic mistakes that I make. So, that’s very fine. Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better now. All right. Then…

There was no doctor within forty miles of–or a city of where my dad was a logger. And there’s a midwife. I’m sure you’re acquainted with what that is. The old midwife came over, and my mother was fifteen years old when I was born. My dad was eighteen, two children.

And when they opened up the window, we had an old grease candle, they said, to make light. I don’t whether you’ve ever had a little can of grease with a–a–and a pine knot. And burn the old pine knot through the night to make the light. And when they opened the window up, the morning, at five o’clock in the morning, when I was born, there was a Light (We have the picture of It.) circled in the room and hung over the bed where I was standing.

Now, do you see why I have to believe in the foreordination of God, for…?… See? Out of a sinful family, none of them even went to church; none of them professed religion on either side. But God in His grace, by His mercy… The mountain people was disturbed; they didn’t know what would happen.



Chapter 3 The Visions

The first thing I can remember nearly, I was about three years old, when He come to me and I saw a vision, and He told me where I would be live–raised at. At seven years old, It appeared to me, and told me never drink, smoke or defile my body. I never… There’d be a work to do.

About twenty-one, I was converted, went into the Baptist church, preached for several years. Visions, just as He’d appear to me, and tell me things that was going to happen. The ministers told me it was the devil. Said, “It’s the devil doing that. Don’t you think that. You’re going to be a fortuneteller.” Well, then one night… It scared me to death, brethren. I didn’t know what to do. I love the Lord Jesus with all my heart. And I didn’t–I didn’t want to get messed up with something like that. And He just keep… It would come to me, and everything It told me was the truth, every time, just the truth.

So I said, one night I was… See, I worked, pastored the Baptist church there, tabernacle. And I worked twelve years, while I was pastor, and never received one penny of money. I don’t take money. Not… I’m not up here for money, friends. I’m up here to help you to love the Lord. If it was money, I wouldn’t be here. And now, I don’t do that.
We just told Brother Collett awhile ago, I said, “Whatever expenses is, pass the collection plate. Don’t never (The manager is not along, and they know better than to do that.), never put a string on.” What the Lord wants me to have, He’s always supplied my needs. And that’s the way I live. He takes care of me. I don’t have nothing tonight. I don’t have nothing or expect to have. If I had it, I’d give it to somewhere else, so it’d go out for the Gospel. I’ve got one purpose; that’s to see the Kingdom of God come on earth in power (That’s right.), see Jesus Christ return.

I think we’ve miserably failed, friends, to take the Gospel that Jesus told us to preach. He said… “What will be the sign of the end?”

He said, “Well, you’ll hear of wars and rumors of wars, that… Don’t be terrified.” All these other things that happen. But He said when this Gospel has been preached to all the world, then He’d return.



Chapter 4 The Church

He never ordained us to build any church. He never ordained us to make a hospital, to make a school, or have a seminary. He never one time commissioned us to do that. All them things are good, but yet He did commission us to preach the Gospel to all the world. And we’ve built schools, and seminaries, and taught theology, and one third of the world is all that’s heard about Jesus yet.

But after all, passing tracts is not preaching the Gospel. “The Gospel came not in word only,” said Paul, “but through power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost.” See, you’re… Not just teach the Word, but preach, make manifest the Word. The Word has to be made alive. It’s a dead letter until it’s made manifest. And then it’s quickened, and it’s brought to pass, what God said about it. That’s the Gospel in action, the New Testament Christianity.



Chapter 5 The Angel

One night while in prayer, away, there was a Man come walking to me on the floor. And I seen Him; this was not a vision. It was the Man. I’d heard His voice many times, saw Him when I baptized at the river, and I was first ordained a Baptist minister. Had my revival, baptized five hundred, my converts, after a two weeks meeting at the foot of Spring Street. And right there all the local papers packed the article of it: “Mystic Light Hangs Over Minister While Baptizing.” And It can’t… It was like a Pillar of Fire. And It hung down there and they…

And then, the people asked me about It, and they got me scared, and told me It was the devil. And one night while I was in prayer… Many years later, just before coming to the Full Gospel people, I was praying, “God, take this thing away from me.” I said, “Lord, You know I love You, and I don’t want It no more, please.” I went to pray all night about it. And I heard someone walking. I looked coming over to this side; there come a tall Man, big, long hair. Now, it didn’t look like the picture of Jesus. I believe, I say this reverently. I believe, by vision, I seen Jesus twice. I–I–I… It was a little Man, but it doesn’t look much like the artist paints Him. But I–I fainted when He–looked at Him, so I… it was… He was standing off to my side.

But now, in–in the world of visions, this Man was not a vision. He walked up to me. I heard His feet as He walked. He walked up and spoke to me. And I was shaking like this, and He said, “Do not fear.” And when He said that. That was the same voice I’d heard since I’d been a baby, the same Man. But He was a Man now. I’d seen Him in a Cloud, in a Pillar, in a… And I’d seen Him in… I heard Him in a whirlwind in a bush, talking to me. And–but I’d never seen Him as a Man. But here He was as a Man. He said, “I’m sent from the Presence of Almighty God to tell you, that your peculiar life and birth was for you’re to go to the world and pray for the sick people.” said, “Your ministry will scatter all over the world and in this, will bring a–the Gospel and the power which will bring the second coming of Christ.”

So then, when He stood by me talking, well, He was a… had… I looked at Him. And I said, “Well, Sir, I’m uneducated, and I only have a grammar school education. People wouldn’t…”



Chapter 6 The Sign

He said, “That as the–Moses was given two signs of vindication of his ministry, so will it be given you, two signs.” One would be, take a person by the hand, and just stand there, and you know what was wrong with them. The next was to know the very secrets of their heart. And I questioned that. And He referred back to Jesus of Nazareth, and the same thing. Then I said I would go, and then the Light that was above the–the Being, He went up in the Light and went away.

And then I started. And it’s been ever since. Then the picture was taken, authentically, many times, by a newspaper reporter. You’ll perhaps see it, right here at the platform ‘fore the meeting’s over. And It’s a–It’s a Light.

And here, not long ago in Houston, Texas, It was taken in a debate, where a Baptist minister came and said that I was a religious fanatic and ought to be run out of the city; he should do it. And I wouldn’t fuss with him. But Mr. Bosworth, taken the challenge, and that night where thousands of people gathered in the Sam Houston Coliseum, they–they discussed it. And of course, he never even got started. Mr. Bosworth just asked him one question; that settled it. That… Said, “Was the redemptive Names of Jehovah applied to Jesus, yes or no?”

If He wasn’t Jehovah-jireh, He wasn’t the Lord’s Provided Sacrifice, He wasn’t Jesus Christ, the Son of God, so we’re still in sin. And if He was Jehovah-jireh, He’s Jehovah-rapha also ’cause they–them compound names is inseparable, Jesus Christ the Healer, the same yesterday, today, and forever. So that–that just settled it forever, for once.



Chapter 7 The Light

And then he kept saying, “Bring forth that healer and let me see him.” Now, I wasn’t supposed to be there, but I was up in the balcony thirty, wife, and brother, and I. And the Angel of the Lord come, said, “Go down.” Five hundred ushers put their hands together; I come down, went to the platform. I said, “I don’t want you to think hard of Brother Best. He has a right to believe that–as a believer.” I said, “As an American citizen, he doesn’t have a right to–to say the Bible doesn’t teach it, because he hasn’t got nothing to say now.” But I said, “I only testify the truth. If I tell the truth, God will testify the truth.” And here He come, coming right down.

So they–they had the Look, Life, Times, Colliers, and all those magazines there. And the Douglas Studios of Houston, Texas, a member of the American Photographer Association shot the picture–one a Catholic and the other one a Jew. Took it in that night and developed the picture to see if was–absolutely was authentic. And the man had a heart attack when he looked at it.



Chapter 8 The Confirmation

The next day it was sent to Washington D.C., copyrighted, brought back, and we sent and got… George… or George Tracy, which is the best in the United States. He’s the head of the FBI in fingerprint and documents, and he kept it in the Shell Building under observation for three days and called us all in, said, “Who is Reverend Branham?”
I said, “I am.”

He said, “Reverend Branham, you’ll die like mortal beings,” But said, “As long as there’s Christian civilization, your picture will live on.” Said, “I’ve often said that was psychology too, but the mechanical eye of this camera won’t take psychology. The Light struck the lens. It was there.”

And so, the picture now is copyrighted, they… Of course, they–they sold it and everything else. I’d get it from them, give it out, just as I get it. And one hangs in Washington D.C., in the Religious Hall of Art, as the only supernatural Being that’s ever been proven, that there was a supernatural Being scientifically.

And He is the One Who does–sees the visions. It’s not me; it’s Him. And we got some of the pictures, with us (a very few). They will have them here, maybe tomorrow night, or whenever, where we go up to the other auditorium. And the books and so forth, you can read the rest of the story.



Editor's note:

I hope His Life Story has blessed you and that your faith in Jesus will grow by listening to His spoken word through His servant as mentioned in the book of Revelation chapter 22 verses 6 and 7 - The angel said to me, " These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."
"Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the Prophecy in this book."